I Love You
by Alacran
Summary: The three most important words.


Momo's heels clacked as she made her way through the halls of the eerily quiet hospital. If it wasn't for the low beeping of the monitors from the various rooms one would think they were empty.

Oh how she wished they were empty.

Then it would mean _he_ was ok. That none of what transpired that night had actually happened. She was in bed right now, sleeping against his bare chest on his right side since his left made her sweaty. Her head slowly rising in falling in time with his breathing.

But she wasn't asleep. This wasn't a dream, and he was very much not ok.

Thankfully the doctors told her that he wouldn't have to stay after tonight; so she was now on her way to say goodbye before he left.

She was dressed up in a black sequin dress with matching heels. It was his favorite outfit that she wore when they would go out. He only mentioned it once in passing but she never forgot and made sure to wear it anytime they had a special occasion. The way he would look at her when she put it on caused her heart to stir. Now her heart was beating rapidly as she approached his room.

Midoriya heard her coming and lifted his head and turned toward her to flash a meek smile. She knew he was just trying to make her feel slightly better so she tried to return it. It must have been awful as Midoriya immediately frowned in response. At that point the rest of the group that was huddled outside the room noticed her. They all looked at her with sympathy and Jirou was the first to walk up to her and embrace her. Not a word was spoken by anyone but there wasn't a need for one. Jirou slowly massaged her back as she hugged her and it took everything for Momo to return it. She didn't want to break down already. She'd done that enough, now was not the time.

Once Jirou had let go the rest of the girls followed suit one by one. Each embracing her gently yet it felt as if they were trying to hold her up. Once they were done even some of the boys joined in. Midoriya looked to be on the verge of tears but that was to be expected. Iida tried his best to maintain his composure and once he let go he gave her a final nod. They had spent three years as president and vice-president of class 1-A and while to most of the class it seemed like a menial job; it had helped them both become close friends. Once you had to plan an entire graduation party that would satisfy every classmate and teacher, you shared a bond that could never be broken.

The last one was of course, Bakugo. He had a much softer expression than usual and yet she still couldn't look him in the eyes. The red was too much of a reminder. Still, Bakugo embraced her as if she was made of glass and while she was anything but fragile in battle, tonight she felt as if she would break apart at any moment. She felt so relieved that they were all there for her, but most importantly, for _him._

Momo stood in front of the doorway of his room. The room was dark except for the lights that were on the monitor. It took her a bit but she finally mustered the strength to cross the threshold. She closed the door behind her not wanting to see the faces of her classmates as she shut them away.

As she stood there in the dark she tried to find her breath. The room felt like a coffin; as if the air was being sucked away and this is where she would stay forever with no hope to escape. She walked over towards his bed, taking each step carefully as her legs felt like jelly. She reached over and pulled up one of the chairs right next to him and in between monitor. On his right, just where she wanted to be.

He looked the same as ever, there just happened to be a tube shoved down his throat. A blanket covered his body and she shuddered at the mere thought of what might be underneath it. She mentally chided herself as she knew that she shouldn't think about such things. Not now, not when she had to do what she needed to.

She looked again at his face, it was peaceful and beautiful. It was the face she fell in love with all those years ago. The scar strewn across his face never prevented her from appreciating his beauty. She looked away and opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself. It had to be done right.

She gazed back at him for a few more moments until finally she spoke.

"I love you." she paused after that and chuckled to herself before she continued, "I'm sorry but I didn't really know how else to start this. I don't even know what I'm going to say besides that. It's only three words but they're the three most important words to me. I've said thousands of times and I'll say it thousands more. I love you." She heard her voice crack at the tail end of her sentence but she persevered.

"I know I told you that I fell in love with you after our first date… but that's not true. It was long before that, but in my defense, I didn't know it was love at the time.

Do you remember our very first end of term exam? What am I saying of course you do but just bear with me for a bit. Believe it or not when you said you voted for me that wasn't what started it. Yes, that was incredibly sweet; and it helped me gain my confidence back and allowed us to pass the exam. Even if Aizawa did go easy on us." Her tone was bitter at the last part, it had been years after they had graduated before their former homeroom teacher had admitted to his "rational deception". But even if she was initially mad, she knew that it was the best thing for her at the time and she appreciated it.

Momo cleared her throat and was tempted to check the time. There was no way it had been more than 5 minutes since she walked in but it was if time had stopped once she closed the door. She took a deep breath and continued. "No, it was actually when you asked if I was nauseous and told me there were pressure points in my feet. There I was trying to hold back tears after passing one of the most grueling exams of my life at that point and you thought I was gonna hurl as if I was Ochako using her quirk." Momo giggled to herself, memories of her friend blowing chunks was not appropriate yet she couldn't help it.

"At that moment I saw that you weren't some perfect prodigy that could do no wrong. You were just a regular awkward teenager. Well, as regular as you could be considering everything with your family…" Her small grin had faded and was replaced by a more somber look.

"When you told me about your past I was horrified. There you were, a living 'experiment' and yet you somehow managed to get where you were despite it. Granted, it took a lot of effort and every bone in Midoriya's fingers, but you became a hero. More importantly, you became *my* hero." She reached over and took his hand into hers, and she softly rubbed his hand with her thumb.

"Now don't go thinking our first date had no effect on me. I would have rather taken the end of term exam five times over than go through the stress of having asked you out. I can still recall the endless nights of planning with Jirou, Mina, and Tooru on the perfect way to do it. Yet all I managed to do was blurt it out right in the middle of studying in my cramped room. I didn't even realize you said yes until after you told me goodnight after we were done and that you were looking forward to it. If only you could have seen the looks on all the girls' face when I told them." She leaned towards him and his quietly whispered, "Don't tell her I told you but I'm almost positive that's when Ochako finally had the revelation that dating Midoriya was a possibility after all."

She was squeezing his hand at this point. She needed to remind herself that he was still there, right in front of her. She inched closer until her knees were touching the side of the bed.

"Then there was the time you returned after passing the retake of the provincial exam. You sauntered into the room ahead of Bakugo as he shouted at you to walk behind him for the millionth time, and the first person you showed your license to was me. You had that damn smile on your face and I knew then as well that I loved you." Her eyes began to water and she knew that it wouldn't be long before she broke.

"I never got the chance to ask you when you knew. I was going to on that night, when we were eating dinner in that restaurant having the best night of our lives. I had a feeling you were gonna propose then but I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Don't get me wrong, I was still going to bawl my eyes out when you asked and a small part of me even wanted to delay my answer just to see what you'd do. I know that's mean but you're fun to tease sometimes I can't help it." Now the tears were flowing and she made no attempt to dry them. She kept breathing in and out to try to regain some composure and eventually it was enough to keep going.

"I should have asked earlier. I should have done a lot of things that night honestly. Of course, you know what they say about hindsight and all. I'm just glad you had the foresight to protect me when you did. Who would even think that someone would attack us then and there? But I know you're always prepared to lay your life on the line. That's what heroes do." Her hand that held his was shaking, "Not get protected by their loved ones and then almost beat their attacker to death with a staff.

Not become a complete wreck when the love of their life is in a hospital bed. Not shun their friends and family who want to do nothing but help them through their pain. No, that's not what heroes do."

Momo stood up from her chair, still holding onto his hand with a vicelike grip. She leaned her head over him to look him directly at him. His face not moving a single muscle. Even in the dark she could see her tears landing onto him. She opened her mouth again but no sound came out. She tried again, and still nothing. Her heart felt like it wasn't even there. She didn't even feel as if she had a body. She felt empty as if everything within her had vanished. The only thing that connected her was the hand she so desperately squeezed.

After a few minutes she found her voice once more.

"This time I'll be your hero. This time I'm going to be the one to save you. Save you from suffering any longer. Save you from a lifetime of pain and anguish. Save you once and for all."

She leaned further down and placed a kiss onto his forehead. It was mixed with the salt of her tears and yet it still tasted sweet. She whispered as quietly as she could right next to his ear.

"I love you Todoroki Shouto."

Then she pulled the plug.

"I'll always love you."


End file.
